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Gang cleans out community
Dwayne Mcleod, Staff Reporter
A section of the now almost empty Barnes Avenue in St. Andrew. - Dwayne McLeod
If one can survive a walk down Barnes Avenue, St. Andrew, without being shot, then one would see that only about three of the ten houses there are still occupied.
Residents had to flee the community after one of Kingston's deadliest gangs, 'Stingers', began wreaking havoc on them and their surroundings.
According to the police, the notorious group of approximately 20 men were behind multiple murders and shootings in the Kingston West Police Division.
The infamous crew's gruesome acts of violence forced the residents of Barnes Avenue to take ultimate safety measures by fleeing the community.
"They are some very dangerous guys, they are the reason why residents from Barnes Avenue had to flee for their lives," one officer said.
When THE STAR recently visited the avenue it was desolate, lacking any form of visible human activity. However, upon visiting the avenue again later in the evening the team was lucky to speak with two residents who were seen walking briskly to their homes and looking behind them with every other step.
One of the men said that the avenue once housed at least 25 residents compared to the five now left.
"Bout five a wi alone deh yah, everybody else 'fraid dem get sting," the resident said.
The two men explained that those who chose to stay have been there for more than 10 years. "... A ya so we know as our yaad so we nuh have nuh weh else fi go," one of the men explained.
The Stinger gang forced the mass exodus with several crimes, including the early morning attack on Gerald Brown, his wife Dorcas, their daughter Michelle and granddaughter, 10-year-old Sasha-Kaye Brown, who were shot and their home set ablaze.
A high-ranking officer attached to the Denham Town Police Station said that, "The police have made leads and are still on to them."
While the officer was unable to give the exact number of murders and shootings in which the 'Stingers' are believed to be involved, he mentioned that affected individuals had actually come forward and given statements, so it would only take a review of such paperwork to get an exact figure.
The officer also mentioned that up to Tuesday the police carried out an operation in the division following a shooting incident at the Tony Spaulding Complex, for which the crew is said to be responsible.
The Stinger gang is based on a road off Maxfield Avenue in St. Andrew and have forged links with a gang know as 'Bibbow', which operates in 'Pegasus', 'Mexico' and 'Top Jungle' in Arnett Gardens and sections of Jones Town.
The gang is also said to govern numerous avenues along the left side of Maxfield Avenue, leading back to Spanish Town Road.
Information reaching THE STAR also is that the gang is now being strengthened by an individual who has expressed the desire to exercise 'donship'.
The individual is said to be funding and strengthening the crew by purchasing an arsenal of high-powered rifles.
The police earlier this year had expressed the need to dismantle the crew since cutting down Marlon 'Little Wicked' Mattie, the then top member of the criminal outfit.
Police said they stormed premises in a section of Arnett Gardens known as 'Top Jungle' after they got word that several heavily armed men were attending a 'nine-night' for slain gangster Christopher 'Cheese Trix' Williams, who was killed during a pre-dawn shoot-out with the police on the Mandela Highway in St. Catherine on April 1.
'Little Wicked', the police said, was fatally shot after men attending the wake fired at the cops in a bid to escape. The police said they recovered two AK47 assault rifles and 22 rounds of ammunition following the shooting. A man and a 17-year-old youth, said to be members of Stinger, were arrested during the incident.
Dwayne Mcleod, Staff Reporter
A section of the now almost empty Barnes Avenue in St. Andrew. - Dwayne McLeod
If one can survive a walk down Barnes Avenue, St. Andrew, without being shot, then one would see that only about three of the ten houses there are still occupied.
Residents had to flee the community after one of Kingston's deadliest gangs, 'Stingers', began wreaking havoc on them and their surroundings.
According to the police, the notorious group of approximately 20 men were behind multiple murders and shootings in the Kingston West Police Division.
The infamous crew's gruesome acts of violence forced the residents of Barnes Avenue to take ultimate safety measures by fleeing the community.
"They are some very dangerous guys, they are the reason why residents from Barnes Avenue had to flee for their lives," one officer said.
When THE STAR recently visited the avenue it was desolate, lacking any form of visible human activity. However, upon visiting the avenue again later in the evening the team was lucky to speak with two residents who were seen walking briskly to their homes and looking behind them with every other step.
One of the men said that the avenue once housed at least 25 residents compared to the five now left.
"Bout five a wi alone deh yah, everybody else 'fraid dem get sting," the resident said.
The two men explained that those who chose to stay have been there for more than 10 years. "... A ya so we know as our yaad so we nuh have nuh weh else fi go," one of the men explained.
The Stinger gang forced the mass exodus with several crimes, including the early morning attack on Gerald Brown, his wife Dorcas, their daughter Michelle and granddaughter, 10-year-old Sasha-Kaye Brown, who were shot and their home set ablaze.
A high-ranking officer attached to the Denham Town Police Station said that, "The police have made leads and are still on to them."
While the officer was unable to give the exact number of murders and shootings in which the 'Stingers' are believed to be involved, he mentioned that affected individuals had actually come forward and given statements, so it would only take a review of such paperwork to get an exact figure.
The officer also mentioned that up to Tuesday the police carried out an operation in the division following a shooting incident at the Tony Spaulding Complex, for which the crew is said to be responsible.
The Stinger gang is based on a road off Maxfield Avenue in St. Andrew and have forged links with a gang know as 'Bibbow', which operates in 'Pegasus', 'Mexico' and 'Top Jungle' in Arnett Gardens and sections of Jones Town.
The gang is also said to govern numerous avenues along the left side of Maxfield Avenue, leading back to Spanish Town Road.
Information reaching THE STAR also is that the gang is now being strengthened by an individual who has expressed the desire to exercise 'donship'.
The individual is said to be funding and strengthening the crew by purchasing an arsenal of high-powered rifles.
The police earlier this year had expressed the need to dismantle the crew since cutting down Marlon 'Little Wicked' Mattie, the then top member of the criminal outfit.
Police said they stormed premises in a section of Arnett Gardens known as 'Top Jungle' after they got word that several heavily armed men were attending a 'nine-night' for slain gangster Christopher 'Cheese Trix' Williams, who was killed during a pre-dawn shoot-out with the police on the Mandela Highway in St. Catherine on April 1.
'Little Wicked', the police said, was fatally shot after men attending the wake fired at the cops in a bid to escape. The police said they recovered two AK47 assault rifles and 22 rounds of ammunition following the shooting. A man and a 17-year-old youth, said to be members of Stinger, were arrested during the incident.
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